Caring for your Wildabout Wampum jewelry

     Caring for your pendants, earrings, necklaces and bracelets take no special efforts nor special products.

     Because we use no additives - no polishes nor waxes or veneers of any sort - Wildabout Wampum creations have a natural shine that does not wear off. However, if you wear your pieces often (as many of our customers do) you may find that sweat, dirt and grease can build up on the jewelry. This build-up can make your piece look less brilliant.

     The best way to combat this is simply to wash your piece of Wildabout Wampum jewelry every so often with warm water and soap, such as a mild dish soap. If necessary you can even lightly scrub the piece wth an old soft toothbrush.

     As for sterling silver, we find one of the best ways to clean it is to use white toothpaste - its safe, inexpensive and certainly readily available!

 

All About Wampum

 

Wampum is a Native American term for “money”, and was originally used by natives as currency.

 

In the 1600s and 1700s, Wampum was made in the form of beads carved from the purple sections of the Quahog shell. The Quahog is a type of large clam found in numerous bays along the shores of the Atlantic ocean, from as far north as northern Canada to as far south as areas of Florida.

 

In those days, the value of the beads carved by the natives was tied to the various hues of coloring in the Quahog shells  – the darker the purple, the more the beads were worth.

 

In trade, the natives would use the beads just as we use paper bills and metal coins today.  For example, at one point in time a string of Wampum beads was worth five British shillings.

 

Wampum beads were so respected that they were viewed as legal currency in many respects. In fact, until as late as the 1780s the respected Harvard University accepted Wampum beads as payment for tuition there.

 

Today, while it is no longer accepted as currency, Wampum is said to bring the owner good luck in financial matters - - - making it both beautiful and valuable.

 

Centuries ago the natives used sticks and sand to create their beads, a process which must have taken both great concentration and great amounts of time.

 

Today, each Wildabout Wampum “objet d'art” is a unique, one-of-a-kind piece, hand-crafted through the use of special diamond tools. Just as in the days gone by, however, each piece is created by meticulously sculpting the rare purple sections of the Quahog shell.

 

While the shells can be found along the entirety of the Atlantic coast of North America, only about 1 in 25 contains the striking purple coloring coveted for Marcia’s shell sculptures.

 

Those rare finds from the waters of the Atlantic are carved, then repeatedly sanded to perfect the glassy, mirror finish. Some of the pieces are then also accented with hand-crafted sterling silver highlighting.

 

Meanwhile, more recently, Marcia has expanded her creations to include carvings out of the wonderful pink hues of the Queen Conch, which are found in tropical regions such as the Florida Keys and The Bahamas.

 

These new creations can also be found, and ordered, through our catalogue section on this website.